Keep supplements somewhere cool, dry, dark and properly sealed. Heat, light, moisture and air are the four things that degrade them, and an ordinary bedroom cupboard or a high kitchen cupboard away from the hob handles all four. The bathroom cabinet is the worst place in most houses, because it combines warmth and steam.
Storage is the least glamorous part of taking supplements and the part most likely to quietly waste your money. Here is where to put things, what a best-before date really means, and which formats need treating differently.
The four things that degrade a supplement
Almost every storage rule comes back to one of four causes, and knowing which one you face tells you what to do about it.
- Heat. Chemical reactions speed up as temperature rises, so warmth shortens shelf life across the board. It also softens capsule shells, melts gummy coatings and makes resin runny.
- Light. Ultraviolet light in particular breaks down light-sensitive ingredients. This is why so many supplements come in amber glass or opaque tubs — decanting them into a clear jar on the worktop undoes that.
- Moisture. Water is the big one. It clumps powders, softens tablets, makes gummies stick together and creates conditions in which things can spoil rather than merely weaken.
- Air. Oxygen degrades fats and oils in particular, which is why oil-based products go rancid rather than simply weakening. A loose lid is a slow leak.
Why the bathroom is the worst place in the house
The bathroom cabinet is where most people keep tablets, and it is the one room designed to fill with hot steam. Every shower raises the temperature and the humidity, the cabinet door barely slows it, and the cycle repeats daily.
The kitchen windowsill is the second worst, for different reasons: direct sunlight, plus repeated heat if it sits near the hob or kettle. It combines the light problem and the heat problem in one tidy-looking spot.
Better spots are a bedroom drawer, a hallway cupboard, or a kitchen cupboard as far from the oven, kettle and dishwasher as you can manage. If you leave bottles out as a memory prompt, an opaque box is the safer version — and if remembering is the real problem, building a supplement routine around an existing daily habit works better than visibility.
Storing shilajit resin
Resin behaves differently from anything else on the shelf, and it worries people the first time they notice it. When it is warm it becomes soft, sticky and slow-flowing. When it is cold it becomes stiff and hard to shift from the spoon. Both states are normal, they are reversible, and neither indicates that anything has gone wrong.
Store it in a cupboard at room temperature with the lid firmly closed. It does not need the fridge, and refrigeration mostly makes it harder to portion. If a jar has gone very stiff, standing it in warm water for a few minutes brings it back, as our guide to preparing our shilajit explains.
The one rule that matters is keeping water out of the jar. Always use a dry spoon, never a wet or previously licked one, and close the lid straight away rather than leaving it open while your drink cools. Everything else about a jar of shilajit resin is forgiving; moisture is not.
Gummies, capsules, tablets and powders
Gummies
Gummies are the most humidity-sensitive format we sell. Warmth and damp make them soften and fuse into a single mass, and any sugar or sour coating draws moisture and turns sticky. Keep the tub sealed and away from steam, and do not decant them into a decorative jar.
If gummies have stuck together they have not necessarily spoiled, but a tub that has been through repeated warm and cool cycles is worth checking for smell and appearance first.
Capsules and tablets
These are the most robust format, which is part of their appeal. Keep them in the original bottle with the lid on. The bottle is usually opaque or amber for a reason, and the closure is designed to seal properly, which a decanted pill organiser is not.
A weekly pill organiser is fine as a short-term convenience. Refill it from the sealed bottle rather than decanting a whole month at once, and keep it out of sunlight.
Powders
Powders clump when damp, and the scoop is usually how the damp gets in. Keep the scoop in the tub rather than washing it and putting it back wet, seal the lid fully, and store the tub upright.
Do live-culture products need refrigerating?
It depends on the product, and the label is the only reliable guide. Some live-culture supplements are formulated and packaged to be shelf-stable at room temperature, and others state on the pack that they should be kept refrigerated. There is no single rule that covers all of them.
If the pack says refrigerate, refrigerate it, including after opening. If it says store at room temperature, the fridge is not an upgrade — condensation each time you open the pack works against you. Where a product is shelf-stable but you live somewhere warm, the fridge is a reasonable choice, but check the label first. We cover the format in more detail in our article on live cultures and greens.
What a best-before date does and does not mean
A best-before date is a quality date, not a safety date. It is the manufacturer's statement that, stored as directed and unopened, the product will still meet its stated specification up to that point. It says nothing about the day after.
What it does not mean is that the contents become harmful the following morning. In practice a supplement past its best-before date is most likely to be gradually less potent than stated rather than dangerous. That said, we would not encourage anyone to work through a long-expired pot: you no longer know what you are taking, which defeats the point.
Two things shorten the useful life below the printed date. One is poor storage: a bottle that has spent a summer on a windowsill will not hold its specification to the date on the label. The other is opening the pack, which starts the clock on air and moisture. Where a pack gives a separate "use within X months of opening" instruction, that is the one that governs.
Should you keep the silica sachet?
Yes, keep it in the bottle. The little sachet marked "do not eat" is a desiccant, and its job is to absorb the small amount of moisture that gets in every time you open the lid. Throwing it away removes the one thing actively protecting the contents.
Some bottles also contain a cotton wool plug. That one is packing material, put there to stop tablets rattling and chipping in transit, and once the bottle is opened it is worth removing — cotton wool can hold moisture against the contents. Keep the desiccant, bin the cotton.
Common questions
Can I put supplements in the freezer to make them last longer?
Generally no. Freezing and thawing produces condensation, which is the opposite of what you want, and it can damage capsule shells and gummies. Unless the label specifically says to freeze, a cool cupboard is the better option.
My capsules have stuck together. Are they still usable?
Capsule shells soften in warmth and can fuse. If they separate cleanly and look and smell normal, they are generally fine, but it is a sign the storage spot is too warm. If they have leaked, discoloured or smell off, do not use them.
Does shilajit resin go off?
It is a stable material and does not spoil the way a food does, but it still carries a best-before date and should be kept dry and sealed. Water in the jar is the realistic risk, not age on the shelf.
What about supplements kept in a car or a gym bag?
Treat those as short-term only. A car gets very hot in summer and a gym bag is warm and damp. Take out what you need for the day rather than storing the bottle there.
Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet or a healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or under medical supervision, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before starting any supplement. We are not able to give medical advice.